[ LETTER ]

Jailed in Mexico

Published: Saturday, December 29, 2012 at 12:06 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, December 29, 2012 at 12:06 a.m.

A United States citizen and military veteran sat shackled to a bed in Mexico. He was there from August until Dec. 22 on a trumped-up charge.

Our government casually dealt with the matter while our citizen suffered needlessly.

He was released only after the media put pressure on Mexico and on our leaders. We need strong leadership in order for other countries to respect us. Respect comes from a position of strength, not smooth talk by a likeable guy.

Other countries may like him, but their respect for the United States has eroded under his leadership.

In 1904 President Teddy Roosevelt was confronted with a diplomatic crisis in which a Muslim tribal leader named Raisuli captured an American businessman, Ion Perdicaris, and his family and demanded ransom and concessions from the United States government. Roosevelt responded to the Sultan of Morocco with a telegram stating, "This government wants Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead." Our battleships in the Tangiers harbor and our strength got favorable results. The hostages were set free.

We allow our diplomats in Benghazi to be murdered without action. We are giving money and F-16 fighter planes to an Egypt that is led by the Muslim Brotherhood. We lack the courage of our convictions and this fact is recognized by subsidized countries that continue to hate us, our values and our way of life. Our strength should be displayed in the form of economic sanctions in the case of Mexico or economic sanctions and military threat in the case of those in the Mideast.

Our leaders appear to lack the judgment and intestinal fortitude to be strong. It is OK to walk softly, but we need to carry a big stick. Strength does not start wars, it prevents them. Strength does not cause us to lose the respect of our neighbors, it gains their respect.

<p>A United States citizen and military veteran sat shackled to a bed in Mexico. He was there from August until Dec. 22 on a trumped-up charge.</p><p>Our government casually dealt with the matter while our citizen suffered needlessly.</p><p>He was released only after the media put pressure on Mexico and on our leaders. We need strong leadership in order for other countries to respect us. Respect comes from a position of strength, not smooth talk by a likeable guy.</p><p>Other countries may like him, but their respect for the United States has eroded under his leadership.</p><p>In 1904 President Teddy Roosevelt was confronted with a diplomatic crisis in which a Muslim tribal leader named Raisuli captured an American businessman, Ion Perdicaris, and his family and demanded ransom and concessions from the United States government. Roosevelt responded to the Sultan of Morocco with a telegram stating, "This government wants Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead." Our battleships in the Tangiers harbor and our strength got favorable results. The hostages were set free.</p><p>We allow our diplomats in Benghazi to be murdered without action. We are giving money and F-16 fighter planes to an Egypt that is led by the Muslim Brotherhood. We lack the courage of our convictions and this fact is recognized by subsidized countries that continue to hate us, our values and our way of life. Our strength should be displayed in the form of economic sanctions in the case of Mexico or economic sanctions and military threat in the case of those in the Mideast.</p><p>Our leaders appear to lack the judgment and intestinal fortitude to be strong. It is OK to walk softly, but we need to carry a big stick. Strength does not start wars, it prevents them. Strength does not cause us to lose the respect of our neighbors, it gains their respect.</p><p>J.K. RUSSELL</p><p>Lakeland</p>